Nigerian Scammer Sentenced for $1.7M Fraud in Colorado

Denver – A Nigerian national, Adetomiwa Seun Akindele, 37, has been handed a 71-month federal prison sentence for defrauding a Colorado woman out of over $1.6 million in a sophisticated romance scheme.

Akindele, who had been living in Minnesota before his arrest, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He was also ordered to pay $1,692,945 in restitution and face a forfeiture money judgment of the same amount. Upon his release from prison, he will be deported back to Nigeria.

The DOJ revealed that Akindele posed as a wealthy Italian American businessman named ‘Frank Labato’ on a dating website, where he encountered a widowed Colorado woman. He began communicating with her in February 2018, and by March, they were exchanging phone calls. Over time, Akindele provided false personal and work details to maintain his fictional persona, eventually leading the victim to believe he was facing a financial crisis related to his overseas work.

Using the alias ‘Frank,’ Akindele convinced the woman to open a cryptocurrency exchange account and transferred over $1.6 million into it as directed by him. He then laundered the money through various crypto exchanges, converting it back to U.S. dollars and depositing it into his own accounts. Throughout the scheme, Akindele provided fraudulent ‘promissory notes’ to reassure his victim that she would be repaid.

United States Attorney Peter McNeilly emphasized the severity of the crime, stating, “This sentence both serves justice to the victim and helps prevent this individual from scamming someone else. The public should be cautious when engaging with people they meet online, especially when those people are asking for money.”

FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek commented on the case’s significance, saying, “Romance scammers are relentless and cunning. This was an egregious case that highlights the need for relentless investigative work to bring perpetrators to justice.” United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over the sentencing, with the FBI Denver Field Office conducting the investigation under Assistant United States Attorney Martha A. Paluch’s prosecution. The case number is 22-cr-00326-CNS.

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